Santiago Moreno Off the Bench Lifts FC Dallas Past Minnesota United 2-1 for Seventh Road Win

Minnesota United finally had its equalizer, its crowd back in the game and 11 minutes to find a winner. FC Dallas needed one counterattack and two substitutes to take it all away.

Santiago Moreno, on the field for seven minutes, finished a fast break set up by Sam Sarver, who had just come on, and FC Dallas beat Minnesota United 2-1 on Wednesday night at Allianz Field. Kaick opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, Kelvin Yeboah answered in the 73rd, and Dallas left Saint Paul with what the club says is its seventh road win of the season.

A Patient, Scoreless First Half

Minnesota set up to frustrate, making just one lineup change, per the club, with Nectarios Triantis stepping into midfield alongside Wil Trapp. The Loons' recap says the plan was to sit a little deeper and stay compact, and for 45 minutes it mostly worked. Dallas had the early corners and a Bernard Kamungo shot over the bar in the fifth minute, but Minnesota had the better looks: Marcus Caldeira forced Jonathan Sirois into a save in the 10th minute, headed wide a minute later and fired high and wide in the 22nd.

Dallas, lined up in a 5-4-1, generated little until late in the half. Ramiro and Ran Binyamin both shot over, and Logan Farrington finally tested Drake Callender in the 44th minute, a shot Callender saved near the top of the goal. The fourth official then signaled zero minutes of stoppage time, which tells you how quietly the half went.

Kaick, Yeboah and a Late Sucker Punch

The second half came alive quickly. Kaick blazed over in the 55th minute, and Callender stopped Kamungo from the left side of the box in the 58th. Four minutes later the pressure told: out of a scramble in the box, Kaick drilled a right-footed shot from the middle of the area into the bottom right corner, with Joaquín Valiente credited with the assist.

Minnesota's bench reacted at once, sending on Tomás Chancalay and Carlos Harvey in the 63rd minute. Dallas kept pushing, with Shaq Moore and Kaick both blocked and Ramiro forcing a Callender save in the 65th. Then Minnesota grew into it. In the 73rd minute, Kyle Duncan slipped a ball through to Yeboah, whose first effort clanged off the left post. He got another swing in the same minute and buried it left-footed into the top right corner. Minnesota's recap calls Duncan's ball a cross to the back post; either way, it was 1-1.

Minnesota pulled Yeboah and Nectarios Triantis a minute later for Maurice Malone and Owen Gene, and Duncan missed narrowly from the middle of the box in the 75th. Dallas answered with Moreno and Herman Johansson in the 77th, then sent Sarver on for Farrington in the 84th.

It took Sarver almost no time. In that same 84th minute, Dallas broke through the middle, Sarver fed Moreno, and the substitute slotted a right-footed finish into the bottom left corner. Minnesota had six minutes of stoppage time to respond and managed one blocked Chancalay shot.

Callender Kept It Close, Dallas Made It Count

Callender was Minnesota's best player and the main reason this was still level for so long. He made three saves, stopping Farrington, Kamungo and Ramiro, and Minnesota's recap singled him out for heroics. Dallas, meanwhile, put six of its 13 shots on target and scored on two of them. Osaze Urhoghide, booked in the seventh minute, committed five of Dallas' 21 fouls, a measure of how physical the visitors were willing to be.

Kaick's goal was his third of the season, a new career high, per Dallas, and he has now scored in back-to-back games. Valiente's assist was his 11th of the season, and the club says he is the first since Michael Barrios, who had 16 in 2019, to record more than 10 in a season. Moreno's winner was his third MLS goal of the season.

For Minnesota, Yeboah, described by the club as the Loons' leading scorer, delivered again, and Duncan was involved in both of the home side's best second-half chances. But Minnesota managed only two shots on target all night.

The Turning Point

Dallas' 84th-minute substitution. Sarver had been on the field for moments when he played Moreno in, and both men came off the bench. Minnesota had been shuffling shapes to chase the game, and the Loons' recap says they cycled through a 5-2-3, a 5-4-1 and finally a 5-1-4 as time ran down. Dallas found the space between those changes and ran straight through it.

Stats That Matter

• Shots on target: FC Dallas 6, Minnesota 2.
• Saves: Callender made 3, Sirois made 1.
• Possession: Minnesota 51.6 percent, FC Dallas 48.4 percent.
• Fouls: FC Dallas committed 21, Minnesota 13.
• Clearances: Minnesota 29, FC Dallas 13.

Dallas Travels Well, Minnesota Can't Win at Home

Dallas moved to 11-7-6 with 40 points. The club says seven road wins is its most in a single season in the post-shootout era, one short of the club record of eight set in 1997, and second-most in MLS this season. It follows a 4-3 home win over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, so Dallas is unbeaten in three. Portland visits Toyota Stadium on Saturday.

Minnesota fell to 7-8-9 with 29 points, and the home form is the alarm bell. The ESPN sheets show nine straight home league matches without a win, a run that started after a 2-0 victory over Portland on April 18. It also followed Saturday's wild 5-4 loss at Portland, giving the Loons back-to-back defeats. Minnesota had won the earlier meeting 1-0 in Texas in April. Next is a trip to St. Louis on Saturday.

The Bench Wins Games

Coaches love to say the substitutes are part of the plan. Dallas made it literal. Two players who started the night on the bench combined for the winner, and Minnesota, which did plenty right for long stretches, is left staring at another home result that got away. At some point, Allianz Field has to start feeling like home again.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Club records and notes as reported by FC Dallas (fcdallas.com) and Minnesota United FC (mnufc.com).